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We have located over 500 children living in Orange County that need our immediate help. With every shelter that we visit, this number grows.
 
We sincerely appreciate your support and love. The Happiness Project could never operate without the generosity of people like you.
 

 

Our current program is to help local children in Orange County that are homeless or living below the poverty level. 

Every child deserves a home, food and the love and support of a strong family.  Yet, many children experience adverse childhood conditions, such as poverty, homelessness, lack of education or  that create great disadvantages in school and life.  Together, we can change the course of these children’s lives forever. 

THE SITUATION

Each homeless shelter in Orange County is turning away thousands of women and their children every year.  They simply do not have sufficient resources for supportive services and housing.  The shelters try to find them a place to stay, but rarely find an available space.  They usually go back to sleeping in motels with 2 and 3 families to a room, parks or under freeway overpasses.  To combat this terrible situation, several Orange County Shelters are in the process of acquiring several more shelters, which could easily double their capacity.  The more money that we raise, the more families that will be provided for at these shelters.  As long as there is homeless children in Orange County, there is more work to be done.

OUR PLAN

The Happiness Project has teamed up with several Orange County shelters to locate the children who are in need of the most help. We will be providing essential items for these children in need. Many of these children only have one set of clothes or eat only one meal a day. We are working to change this immediately by providing items such as shoes and socks, food, school supplies, books, backpacks, jackets, water bottles, blankets, etc.

Several of these shelters have highly effective programs that house women and children. These programs are so effective because they don’t just provide temporary housing, they provide the resources and training to break the vicious cycle of homelessness. The women living in these homes are required to obtain employment and attend meetings several times a week to gain essential life skills. The majority of women who live in these shelters for 6 months, move out into their own apartment or home and are never homeless again. With such a complete and supportive program, these families are able to make the changes necessary to turn their lives around. By helping to provide for their children, these mothers will usually be able to save enough money to get into an apartment and move out onto her own with her family. Mothers like this could not do this without our help. The transition from being completely homeless to supporting a family is a difficult one. If we can provide food and life essentials for these children for just a few months, there is a great chance that they will forever have a place to call home.

Unfortunately there is not enough room in shelters like this. For families that are not involved with such programs, the children often need much more help. Many of them do not own a pair of shoes and share a blanket at night with several siblings. We will work to make the best use of your donations by providing these items. By providing these necessities, together we will spread happiness to the children who need it most.